1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chain conveyor system for loading and conveying articles to be conveyed and more specifically to a chain conveyor system for conveying metallic magnetic articles to be conveyed (appropriately referred to simply as articles hereinafter) by securely attracting and retaining the articles even on such a conveyor line inclined upward or downward or on a slippery wet conveyor line.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a chain conveyor system for conveying magnetically attractive articles so they do not fall by using a magnet-backed chain having a large number of attractive magnet units disposed at certain intervals on an outer circumferential side of a chain. Surfaces of permanent magnets fixed to thin ferromagnetic yokes of the attractive magnet units are coated by epoxy resin and the like (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei. 9-275011 (Paragraph 8, FIG. 8) for example).
However, because the large number of attractive magnet units is disposed on the outer circumferential side of the chain base in the prior art chain conveyor system using the magnet-backed chain, there have been such problems that not only the attractive magnet units come in contact directly with the metallic magnetic articles, thus displacing or damaging the permanent magnets, but also the chain conveyor system generates noise due to its contact impact.
Still more, because the attractive magnet units continue to be directly in contact with the metallic magnetic articles and to exhibit their strong attractive forces even in a conveyor terminal carry-out area in the prior art chain conveyor system, there has been such a problem that it becomes difficult to separate the articles, posing a serious hindrance in relaying or transferring the articles, due to the strong attractive force of the attractive magnet units in passing the articles to a succeeding conveyor line or other equipment.